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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25116934">does it get your blood boiling, does it make you see red?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bumbleb_tch/pseuds/bumbleb_tch'>bumbleb_tch</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Adrien Agreste, F/M, I will not be taking criticism on that I am Absolutely Right, Minor Self Harm, Minor Violence, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tethered AU, Top Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator Marinette Dupain-Cheng, art within the fic because please appreciate me guys I worked hard on it, sin alert</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:29:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,455</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25116934</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bumbleb_tch/pseuds/bumbleb_tch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A curtain of dark hair fell around her face as she stared at the ground, the fine strands longer than they had been in her entire life. She brushed it over her shoulders, breathing unsteadily, and glanced at her palm in time to watch a soft pink glow seal the cuts left by the glass moments earlier. </p><p>Adrenaline flushed her system, pumping through her veins like electricity, her voice rising hysterically, “Tikki, detransform me.” </p><p>High pitched ringing echoed in her head, drowning out any outside noise as she sank back to the ground clutching at her ears, only to find nothing there, no trace of the earrings that used to tie her and Tikki together. </p><p>“Tikki, please,” she begged desperately, digging her nails into her scalp, “Please detransform me, I don’t know what to do.”</p><p>Marinette’s fingers scratched over her cheeks, surprised when her fingers came away wet with tears, and devastated to find there was no seam where her mask should have been, just unblemished skin. </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>194</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>does it get your blood boiling, does it make you see red?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello lovelies, I know this is not any of my WIPs but I got really into it AND it is a little spicy per some recent requests so I hope y'all enjoy it! :D </p><p>Also!!! I made a <a href="https://bumbleb-tch.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> to go with this account so I can post updates, my art, and engage with y'all better. Please please please drop in my inbox with questions or requests! </p><p>As always, big beautiful thank you to my wonderful betas, Papillon10 and theankh, I literally couldn't do this without them</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette’s eyes snapped open. She jerked up out of instinct more than anything else, reeling back when her forehead connected with a cold, hard surface. Stars danced in her vision, panic tightening her chest as she struggled to process where she was and what was happening. Her fists pounded against glass, covered in familiar scarlet and black. </p><p>Sucking in a shaky breath, she muttered, “Lucky Charm,” and sighed in relief when a hammer materialized in her hands. Marinette twisted onto her side and covered her face, slamming the tool into the glass until it shattered, the shards raining down on her. Jagged edges cut into her palms as she scrambled free, but she ignored the pain, too focused on escaping her prison. </p><p>An all encompassing dread and anguish burned in her chest, only she couldn’t figure out why. </p><p>The last thing she could remember was a battle. Hawkmoth had backed Master Fu into a corner and he’d surrendered Guardianship to her, but Mayura got the jump on them. Marinette could remember something sharp pressing into her throat as she screamed at Chat to take the Miracle Box and run.</p><p>And then nothing.</p><p>Running a hand across her neck, she found a thin scar, long past healed and fading into the surrounding skin. An icy shiver raced down her spine, anxiety spiking again as a wave of foreboding washed over her. Sliding down the outside of the box, which looked disturbingly like a Snow White-esque coffin, Marinette dropped to the floor, her knees giving out as soon as they tried to support her. </p><p>“How long was I in there?” she groaned aloud, her voice scratchy with disuse and somehow different than she was used to. “What the- why do I sound like that?” Marinette gripped the edge of the coffin and pulled herself upright, feeling like a newborn horse stumbling on wobbly legs that were just a little too long. Her muscles trembled as she stood there and looked back down at the floor. “Am I...taller?” </p><p>A curtain of dark hair fell around her face as she stared at the ground, the fine strands longer than they had been in her entire life. She brushed it over her shoulders, breathing unsteadily, and glanced at her palm in time to watch a soft pink glow seal the cuts left by the glass moments earlier. </p><p>Adrenaline flushed her system, pumping through her veins like electricity, her voice rising hysterically, “Tikki, detransform me.” </p><p>Her arms tingled, the fabric shimmering and reforming into a different suit, with black gloves stretching past her elbows. Biting back a panicked whine, Marinette repeated, “Destransform me!”</p><p>The suit flickered again, resettling into a more tactical design, akin to the one she’d worn as Lady Noire. High pitched ringing echoed in her head, drowning out any outside noise as she sank back to the ground clutching at her ears, only to find nothing there, no trace of the earrings that used to tie her and Tikki together. </p><p>“Tikki, please,” she begged desperately, digging her nails into her scalp, “Please detransform me, I don’t know what to do.”</p><p>Another buzz ran through her limbs, the thick leather transforming into a lightweight hoodie and joggers, still as scarlet as ever. Marinette’s fingers scratched over her cheeks, surprised when her fingers came away wet with tears, and devastated to find there was no seam where her mask should have been, just unblemished skin. </p><p>A sob wracked her body, gasping painfully from her ribcage. “Please, I can’t. Please Tikki.”</p><p>There was no way for her to know how much time passed as she huddled there, shivering and pleading with thin air, until her sobs faded away and her tears dried into sticky trails. By the end her head was pounding and every part of her body ached with exhaustion, but her nerves were on fire, twitching as if they were afraid to relax.</p><p>She stumbled to her feet for a third time and took off through stone passageways blindly. Every impact with the concrete beneath her feet sent shockwaves through her body.  Marinette paid no attention to where she was going, fueled solely by a need to get as far away from that room as possible. </p><p>When her lungs gave out, she leaned against the closest wall to rest and winced when a hard object collided with her hip. She dug her hand inside her pocket and unearthed her yoyo, the familiar sight giving her a small sense of comfort. </p><p>Her chest tightened, a fresh surge of tears burning behind her eyelids as she flipped open the screen and checked the date. A strangled cry gargled in her throat as she stared at the glowing digits. </p><p>Four years. Four <em> years </em>had passed her by while she was lying in a coffin.</p><p>She was twenty years old. </p><p>A vice closed around her heart and squeezed as her fingers flew across the tiny keyboard, typing in her own name and scanning the results.</p><p>
  <em> “Remembrance stones erected for the 27 confirmed victims of Mayura’s final attack on Paris…” </em>
</p><p>Marinette cleared the search and entered Ladybug instead, scrolling through articles from four years earlier.</p><p>
  <em> “New Heroes in Paris...still no sign of Ladybug…Chat Noir refuses to comment on Ladybug’s disappearance...Memorial service scheduled for the anniversary...” </em>
</p><p>The most recent article mentioning Ladybug was almost a year old.</p><p>She was dead, on both sides of her mask.</p><p>A high pitched giggle, lacking any humor, tore itself from her throat as she moved on to the next question ringing in her mind and spelling out ‘Hawkmoth’.</p><p>
  <em> “Gabriel Agreste charged with domestic terrorism for actions under alias Hawkmoth...lawyers forced to plead guilty after zero cooperation from accused...sentenced to maximum security prison along with accomplice, Nathalie Sancoeur......Heroes declare Paris safe…” </em>
</p><p>A hollow pit grew in her chest, until it swallowed her whole, tugging her into a riptide of emotions she couldn’t even properly name. </p><p>Hawkmoth was gone, Paris was safe, but she was dead.</p><p>Except, she wasn’t. Ladybug was not missing and Marinette Dupain-Cheng had continued to draw breath for four years after her supposed death, only no one had come looking for her. All of Paris had just...moved on and forgotten.</p><p>Marinette searched for video results of Paris’ ‘New Heroes’, pouring over several years worth of footage documenting an entire team patrolling Paris, despite the lack of threats. And at the forefront of many was her former partner, Chat Noir. </p><p>He didn’t perform for the press anymore- he barely acknowledged them in any of the videos- but he smiled and laughed. He talked with children and fans, indulged selfies and questions with his familiar charm.</p><p>He never mentioned her.</p><p>Chat never even answered questions about her, often opting to pretend he hadn’t heard anything at all, a blank smile pasted on his face. </p><p>Even he’d decided to forget her- to replace her with shiny new heroes and never looked back. </p><p>Marinette shut her yoyo with a soft click, folding it between her palms and focusing on her shaky breathing as the rising emotions within her turned white hot and the stone beneath her leached away her body heat.</p><p>She had no clue why she’d woken up, or how she’d been asleep that long without dying in the first place. But if she hadn’t, she might have slept there as she aged until her body literally decayed. </p><p>He’d just abandoned her, left her there to rot. </p><p>Before she even realized she was moving, Marinette found her feet pounding against stone as she sprinted through the tunnels again, stumbling out into a sewer. Her eyes landed on a ladder leading up to the street above and she tripped her way up it, the iron slick in her grip as she peeked through the holes in the cover.</p><p>Lucky for her, a dark sky was visible through the gap, so she nudged the metal disk out of the way as inconspicuously as she could. Sticking her head out, she scanned her surroundings and found the street deserted. Then, she hauled herself out of the sewer and shifted the cover back on, then sprinted into the nearest alley.</p><p>Ducking into the shadows, she whispered under her breath, “Okay, Tikki. I need to find Chat so I need to be Ladybug again.” What she really meant was she needed to look her former partner in the eye and ask him if she really meant so little to him that he could just forget about her, but she wasn’t even sure Tikki could hear her.</p><p>And even if she could, she wasn’t sure she wanted Tikki to know that. </p><p>Clenching her fists and squeezing her eyes shut, Marinette sent up a desperate prayer and muttered, “Tikki, transform me.”</p><p>A shiver ran over her body as the baggy fabric tightened and shifted back into the first version she’d been offered earlier- black gloves and boots, with darker red panels across her hips and shoulders but the classic red with black spots along her torso. Marinette reached up and checked her cheek, huffing a sigh of relief when she found the seam of her mask. </p><p>Which left her to wonder what she had looked like before.</p><p>Pushing the thought aside, she used her yoyo to get onto the roof of the closest building and then clipped it back around her waist, setting off vaulting from roof to roof. It was slower than swinging across the city, but far less conspicuous, and she wasn’t ready for Paris to know that Ladybug was back. </p><p>Marinette hadn’t quite decided if it wasn’t better just not to come back at all, especially since she didn’t feel very much like Ladybug.</p><p>Granted, she didn’t feel very much like Marinette either.</p><p>She ran until her limbs burned, forgetting her goal more than once as she lost herself in the wind blowing through her hair, tied back in a long ponytail that danced in the breeze, and the sharp sting of the night air filling her lungs with every breathless gasp. The buildings blurred beneath her feet until Marinette was dizzy and her sense of direction had evaporated by the time she came to a stop, panting softly. </p><p>Voices nearby caught her attention and she dove into the nearest alcove, doing her best to melt into the brick as she strained to hear what they were saying. Both were feminine, which meant they weren’t the cat she was looking for, but they were also familiar in a way she couldn’t place. </p><p>Her memories of being Marinette were somewhat foggy and fractured, not as clear as her Ladybug memories. She’d been working hard not to think about the implications of that.</p><p>One of the voices drifted closer, loud and vibrant. “I’ve got the last couple blocks on my own, go get some rest, girl!” </p><p>The other voice replied- too far away for the words to be distinct, but if Marinette had to guess, she would say they were objecting. </p><p>“Yes, I’m sure! Good<em> bye! </em>” The first woman insisted, laughing through her words. More laughter answered her, followed by footfalls echoing in retreat. </p><p>Silence fell and Marinette shifted in the shadows, inching towards the edge of her hiding place to scan the area. A shingle underfoot cracked beneath her weight, tumbling loose and skittering across the roof. She cringed, going completely still and holding her breath. </p><p>“Hello?” the woman called, causing Marinette to bite back a string of curses. “Bunnyx if this is one of your pranks, I will yeet you into the <em> sun </em>.” The threat was accompanied by footsteps approaching the alcove. </p><p>Tensing, Marinette gripped her yoyo in one hand and dropped into a crouch, putting herself beneath eye level and relying on the low light to give her the element of surprise. The figure that rounded the corner was taller than she remembered, unsurprisingly, but unmistakably Rena Rouge.</p><p>The sight almost made her hesitate.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>Marinette darted out of the shadows and slammed her shoulder into Rena’s stomach, stunning her and knocking her off balance. A series of harsh coughs wracked her old friend’s body as she struggled to regain the air that had been knocked from her chest. But before Rena could even turn to properly see who had attacked her, Marinette flicked her yoyo out, the cord circling around Rena’s torso and legs, sending her sprawling. </p><p>The hero yelped but then her head collided with stone and she fell silent. Marinette stooped down and checked her pulse. She didn’t want any blood on her hands, least of all Alya’s. </p><p>Her eyes caught on the foxtail necklace hanging at her former teammate’s neck and she considered the Miraculous. After a long moment, Marinette unclasped the jewelry and watched as Alya’s transformation melted away. </p><p>Depending on how long it took Alya to regain consciousness, she’d bought herself some time, but she did want the team of heroes to flood the streets sooner rather than later. Both for her, and for Alya’s, sake. Not to mention, the Fox Miraculous newly in her possession certainly widened her options. </p><p>She fished Alya’s cell phone from her pockets and finagled her thumb into unlocking it, swiping to her texts and sending a direct and to-the-point “SOS” to Nino, the top number in her recent messages. </p><p>Something in her chest flared with warmth for the briefest second, but Marinette brushed it aside and tucked the phone back where she found it. “Sorry, Alya,” she whispered, turning and disappearing into the darkness without looking back.</p><p>Knowing that the rest of the heroes would likely track Alya’s cell phone location, and thus turn up eventually, Marinette didn’t wander very far. She scaled one of the nearby skyscrapers, tucking herself beneath an overhang that gave her a wide view of the surrounding area, which guaranteed she’d see anyone approaching. </p><p>She slid the Fox Miraculous over her neck and watched as Trixx burst into existence, the action striking a sharp twinge of nostalgia in her for her own kwami. </p><p>The little fox blinked up at her in confusion for a long moment. “...Marinette?” He zipped close to her face, eyeing her speculatively. “Is it really you? I thought you were dead? Or disappeared? It’s hard to say ‘cause none of them really understand it all and we can’t tell them and Master Fu is gone which didn’t help. Anyway, you’re here! Your energy is all kinds of janked up though, are you okay? Gotta say, I like the new look, it’s pretty swanky.”</p><p>A genuine smile creased her face at the kwami’s energy, the skin stretching awkwardly in the motion, as though she’d forgotten how. “It’s a long story, Trixx. What did you say about my energy?”</p><p>“It’s six different kinds of janked up! Is Tikki sick or something? I can barely tell your auras apart.” Trixx threw his tiny paws around Marinette’s cheek and nuzzled into her. “But I’m glad you’re not dead! That really sucked, we missed both of you guys so much. Wait, where did Alya go? I can’t believe she let you out of her sight, she-”</p><p>Marinette forced a laugh that was more of an awkward rattle than anything else, “We’ll get back to her soon. I need your help first though, Trixx. Can you lend me a paw?”</p><p>“Of course, how could I ever refuse?” Trixx chirped, swishing his bushy tail in excitement. </p><p>Part of her was concerned that if she added Trixx to her and Tikki’s already ‘muddled’ energies, then she wouldn’t be able to separate him again, but his Mirage would give her a much wider variety of options when it came to isolating Chat while avoiding the other heroes. </p><p>“Thanks, Trixx. You ready?” Pasting on a confident smile to hide her uncertainty, Marinette scratched the fox under his chin when he nodded. “Trixx, Tikki, unify!”</p><p>Trixx’s transformation washed over her in a fiery storm, filling her veins with a burning energy. Compared to Tikki’s gentle cascade of rejuvenation, Trixx was a feral cyclone, swallowing her whole with an itching desire to <em> move </em>. As expected, her suit transformed once again, taking on characteristics similar to Rena Rogue. Orange stripes replaced the red panels on her thighs, and a matching tail that stretched out behind her. She ran a hand through her hair and found a pair of ears nestled in the silky strands, larger than Chat's but smaller than Rena's. </p><p>Retreating further into the alcove, Marinette scanned her surroundings for any sign of approaching figures. It would shock her if they had managed to track Alya down that quickly, even with her text to Nino, but it was better to be safe than sorry.</p><p>She’d checked her yoyo more than once in the last few hours and had realized very quickly that her perception of time had been completely destroyed. At one point it had seemed like she’d just blinked while holding the device and an hour vanished, but later checked after what seemed like hours, only to find that mere minutes had passed. After that, she’d been almost obsessively monitoring the time.</p><p>Something about losing four years made her desperate to account for every minute she’d regained by emerging from whatever stasis she had been in. </p><p>A little under half an hour of waiting later, Marinette spotted the first pair of heroes approaching in the distance. She shifted up into a crouch and squinted until their identities became clear- Carapace and Queen Bee. While she couldn’t make out what they were saying, the fact that she could hear indistinct shouting at all suggested they were arguing. </p><p>She settled deeper into the shadows again, watching as the pair approached the rooftop where she’d left Alya. Sweeping her gaze back across the horizon, her eyes caught on movement in the opposite direction, a blur that solidified into Viperion. A scowl twisted her face. </p><p>Luka had been a natural with the Snake years earlier, and it was likely time had only served to hone his abilities. If he’d already activated his Miraculous by the time she made her move, her entire plan might fall through. And from such a distance it would be difficult for her to tell if and when he did. </p><p>The cherry to top it all off was that he also likely had the ability to pull off multiple different Second Chances within one transformation, unrestricted by the timer that had controlled her throughout her time as Ladybug.</p><p>Some bitter part of her missed it because, at least back then, her transformation would always come to an end. </p><p>Accelerating her plan risked missing Chat Noir altogether, but she needed to get Luka as far away from herself as possible if she wanted to maximize the time she had to work with. Marinette tugged the flute strapped to her back, pulling it free from its clasp and pressing the polished wood to her lips. Squeezing her eyes shut, she concentrated on the image she wanted to summon and exhaled into the instrument. </p><p>“Mirage,” she hissed under her breath, whipping the flute in the direction of the rooftop that the heroes were gathering on.</p><p>New figures flooded the streets, taking on the appearance of a number of the heroes, Rena, Carapace, Queen Bee, anyone she could think of except for Chat Noir. They were based more on her memory than anything else, but she was hoping that wouldn’t bite her in the ass too quickly, watching as they scattered in all directions. </p><p>Amongst the duplicates she’d scattered a few distorted images of herself, each heading away from where she was hiding, in as random a pattern as she could manage to maintain. She watched the heroes scramble, Viperion and Queen Bee immediately diving into the fray, while Carapace avoided the hordes entirely, escaping with Alya in his arms.</p><p>Marinette focused her attention on Viperion, directing one of her own copies to cross his path and trip on a nearby curb, giving the illusion of a substantial form. She couldn’t help the surge of pride when her scheme worked, the snake hero taking off after the illusion. Redirecting her attention to Queen Bee, she found the heroine already well out of the immediate vicinity, hot on the trail of another one of her duplicates. </p><p>A streak of black weaved into the chaos beneath her, immediately drawing her gaze. That had been her intention, after all, to make sure that as soon as Chat appeared, she’d know. Her former partner plowed through the ranks of clones, fresh ones erupting from thin air as quickly as he could destroy them. </p><p>Marinette dove from her hiding space and over the edge of the building, the wind screaming in her ears as she plummeted towards the ground. She rolled to a stop on a balcony halfway down the building, heart pounding as she vaulted onto a nearby roof, reveling in the excessively heightened agility that Trixx lent her. In less than thirty seconds she was leaping to the ground only a few feet in front of Chat Noir. </p><p>Her feet were already running when she hit the asphalt, absorbing the impact in her stride. It would have been impossible for Chat not to notice her and she knew he wouldn’t let her get away without a fight.</p><p>Which meant he’d follow her wherever she led him. </p><p>Weaving through alleys and narrow streets, Marinette headed for the alcove she’d selected from above, diving into a gap between two buildings, not even an alley so much as just a crevice. She backed into the shadows, ears pricked for her pursuer. </p><p>Thanks to Trixx, her senses were enhanced, flooded with stimuli. She could hear footfalls approaching, and with them, a scent that she couldn’t say she’d ever properly smelled before, but made her chest ache with familiarity. It was like a fresh breath of air after being underground, snaking through her lungs and pulsing in her veins. </p><p>Chat barreled past the opening she’d ducked into only seconds earlier and for a moment, she thought he might keep going. But then he ducked back into the gap and stared directly into her eyes. </p><p>While it could have been coincidence, Marinette was intimately aware of how developed her ex-partner’s night vision was- or at least, how it used to be- and knew it was far more likely he could actually see her. So she rose to her feet gracefully, holding his gaze in a sort of challenge. </p><p>Chat didn’t move, remaining rooted where he stood. “Who are you?” he asked, his voice striking her with more force than a physical blow. It was almost unrecognizable, deeper, rougher, and so very tired.</p><p>To her, it felt as though only a few hours earlier she could have claimed to know him like the back of her own hand, that she’d seen him at highs and lows and everywhere in between and no matter how he changed and grew, she would always know him. She’d long held the idea in her heart that if she met Chat on the street she would know him immediately, just by his smile. </p><p>But the man staring at her was a stranger in every sense of the word, everything that used to be so familiar was wild and new, thrown into harsh relief by the low light. </p><p>And the way he was staring her down gave her the impression that he was feeling something similar about her. </p><p>Marinette let a smile cross her face, but it lacked any warmth or sincerity. “I’d tell you if I knew.” The words were toneless and robotic, meant to taunt him, and if the furrow in his brow was anything to go by, she’d succeeded. But as soon as she voiced the thought, it rang in the air with a truth she hadn’t even been ready to admit to herself. </p><p>Edging towards her in a way that was meant to be subtle and disarming- and likely would have been if she didn’t already know a number of his tricks, even if he had changed- Chat held up both of his hands, empty palms upturned. “Then what do you want?” he asked.</p><p>Rather than answer, she tipped her head to the side and sneered. “No Cataclysm? Shame to muzzle your greatest weapon.” In another life Marinette might have said the same words, laced with humor, and the old Chat would’ve grinned and made a terrible joke about his greatest weapon being his good looks. </p><p>But this man was not the same partner she remembered. She could practically see him bristle.</p><p>“Not that I need to justify myself to you-”</p><p>“And yet you are,” Marinette cut in, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. </p><p>Chat didn’t bother to acknowledge her objection. “-But my Cataclysm can’t be undone. Whatever I touch is eradicated, <em> permanently. </em>” He leveled a glare in her direction and though she couldn’t see as well in the dark as he could, the light reflecting in their depths were as fathomless as the ocean and just as cold. </p><p>Oozing nonchalance she fired back flippantly, “A world without Ladybug is a dangerous one.” She watched the change in him when her words registered, like he'd touched a live wire, every hair standing on end and vibrating with energy just on the brink of an explosion.</p><p>The silence hung heavy between them. “Struck a nerve, Kitty?” Marinette drawled, slinking towards him. “Why? Because you hate her? Because she’s<em> gone </em>?” she spat, each taunt razor sharp and soaked in vitriol.</p><p>“What?” Chat gaped at her, his face twisted in confusion. Some twisted part of her took a sick pleasure in watching him back away from her almost instinctively.</p><p>She sneered again, ignoring the feeling of glass crunching underfoot. “Why are you so afraid to talk about Ladybug?” </p><p>He took a single step towards her. “You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about,” he hissed, a low and dangerous warning.</p><p>“I think I do. It’s been years- but you never mention her. Doing your best to forget?” she asked, still advancing despite his sudden decision to hold his ground. </p><p>Chat stalked towards her, “I could never forget.” He lunged and she stumbled, her back colliding with the wall behind her. “Every second of my miserable life is consumed by memories and <em> you </em> are wasting time I could be using to find her.” A growl rumbled so deep in his throat that she could feel it in her own chest, humming in her bones, and even in the dim light, she could see his teeth bared in a vicious snarl. </p><p>Feral was the only word she could find to describe him, very real fangs only inches from her face when he finished. “So do us both a favour and don’t mention her again.”</p><p>Afraid to meet his eyes from such a proximity, Marinette dropped her weight, ducking to the side and out of his reach. Gravel spinning beneath her left her unsteady as she turned, only to find him already looming behind her. “You loved her.” </p><p>It wasn’t a question.</p><p>He answered anyway, immediately, without a note of hesitation. “I love her. Present tense.”</p><p>The words staggered her, forcing the truth from her lips before she could think twice. “Even if she’s dead.” She moved away, but he matched her step for step.</p><p>“She’s not,” Chat countered, sounding more confident that it was true than she'd ever claim to be. </p><p>“Even if she was,” Marinette amended, the desperation in her voice audible and humiliating, leaving her to cringe at her own words. </p><p>“Why do you care?” he asked, still chasing her, more confused than accusatory as they played cat and mouse in the enclosed space. “Do I know you?”</p><p>Originally she’d been the cat. But now she wasn’t so sure. </p><p>She planted her feet and let him approach, holding his gaze. “I used to know you.”  Sliding one hand to her hip, she freed her yoyo from its clasp, holding his attention by injecting every ounce of venom in her body into her words. “Now I’m not so sure.”</p><p>As soon as he lunged towards her, Marinette dodged back, using the heightened dexterity that the fox gave her to ricochet off the wall and over his head. With a flick of her wrist, she looped the string of her yoyo around his torso, but her time asleep hadn’t garnered her any favors with accuracy and the strands tightened just above his elbows, too high to effectively restrain him. </p><p>One of his hands gripped the wire and pulled, yanking her body into his and sending them both tumbling to the ground. They skidded to a stop, asphalt scraping against the fabric of her suit, and she found herself hovering above Chat, with her legs straddling his hips. Almost in sync, they panted, hot air gusting in the narrow space between them. </p><p>Marinette twitched, leaning back only to have Chat’s claws tighten around her thighs, keeping her from jumping away. She froze, her eyes dropping to truly meet his for the first time. While using the Fox Miraculous enhanced her night vision, it didn’t do much for details and color. Only at this proximity could she properly appreciate his unsettlingly inhuman beauty. </p><p>Over the years she had spent more time thinking about Chat’s eyes than she was willing to admit. Something about them, in their utter strangeness, always alight with a wild ferocity, had shaken her to her core for as long as she’d known him. And that hadn’t changed.</p><p>Even if everything else had. </p><p>She hesitated, lost in her thoughts as she stared wide-eyed down at him, watching as something flickered in his eyes. Then his hips bucked up into her pelvis, sending her plummeting face first into his chest, and before she could recover, he flipped them, pinning her beneath him. </p><p>She knew it wasn’t his best plan, given that his upper arms were still bound, but he weighed more than he used to and she was exhausted even before she stepped foot in the alley. So she struggled for effect more than anything else, blocking out the stream of words pouring from his mouth that were no doubt meant to calm her but in fact were doing anything but. </p><p>“C’mon Bug, please,” he begged in her ear, wobbly and cracking on every word with a childlike helplessness that thrust her into the past so violently her stomach lurched with nausea. </p><p>Everything stilled and Marinette froze. </p><p>It seemed as though even the breeze had simply vanished, leaving the air clouded with tension while she reconciled this stranger with the ghost of her partner that lived only in her memories. Her hands retracted her yoyo without thinking, not even considering refusing him. </p><p>Her brain caught up a moment later and as soon as he leaned back, she burst into a renewed bout of flailing, succeeding in clawing free for the briefest moment before his hand closed around her arm and tugged her back into his grip. A vicious shriek pierced her ears and it took Marinette a long moment to realize it was coming from her.</p><p>With her vision blurring as panic swelled around her like an oppressive storm, she closed her hands around his throat, tiny claws digging into him until she felt just enough give that they started to become slick as they pierced skin. But Chat refused to relinquish his grip, enfolding her entire body into his and waiting, as patient with her as ever.</p><p>Spots danced before her eyes and her head pounded in time with her heart, roaring faster than she could keep up, dragging her along as the tension mounted within her. </p><p>Until it snapped.</p><p>The screaming stopped, and everything went black.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Marinette’s eyes snapped open, her fingers tearing at fabric that tangled around her body as she struggled. A whine rose in her throat; the only thing keeping it from swelling into a scream were her empty lungs heaving desperately for air, without success. </p><p>Shadows clouded the edges of her vision, threatening to overwhelm her again and she clenched her eyes shut, going completely still. Forcing her body to relax, she concentrated on measuring her breath and reopened her eyes. A boring, cream ceiling stretched above her, so perfectly ordinary that she almost burst into tears. </p><p>The binds around her limbs were nothing more than sheets and blankets swathing her in the middle of the bed and with her new clarity, Marinette had no trouble pulling herself free. Able to breath again, she took stock of herself, finding Trixx’s foxtail absent from her neck and  her suit reverted to its Ladybug form. A hoarse rattle that had meant to be a groan broke between her lips. </p><p>He definitely knew now. Before, he might have only suspected, but not after seeing her like this.</p><p>Digging her nails into her palms and focusing on the dull sting, she slid off the bed and crept across the room. Her yoyo was missing from around her waist, and it was nowhere she could immediately lay eyes on. He knew her too well, even after so much time. If he’d left it with her, she very well might have jumped out the window just to avoid having to look him in the eye again.</p><p>Her feet sunk into plush carpet as she edged her way across the room, feeling compelled to scrutinize everything in sight, although she couldn’t quite figure out why. Not that there was much to scrutinize in the first place. </p><p>The room was decorated in neutral colours and so empty that it almost looked staged, like the background of a photoshoot or movie. The only personal items on display were a collection of photographs scattered on top of a dark wood dresser. Unable to contain herself, Marinette gripped the first frame and scanned the image it held.</p><p>A woman smiled within, her forest green eyes somehow soothing and kind, tugging at Marinette's heart. She traced a finger across high cheekbones and flowing blonde tresses, wondering if the woman was related to her partner, with such similar features. </p><p>And why she seemed so familiar.</p><p>Replacing the frame with care, she moved on to the next, finding a photo from her early days as Ladybug- a version of herself from another life posing alongside her partner, a smile stretching her round, childlike face and her whole life ahead of her. Her hands shook as she gripped the edge of the frame, tilting it in the light until her reflection appeared. </p><p>Wide bluebelle eyes stared back at her, the same shade they’d always been, but somehow so much darker, haunted by nightmares that the girl in the photo had yet to suffer through. </p><p>Marinette tucked the picture back where she found it, moving on before she tumbled into another spiral over the time she’d lost. The last frame depicted a group of teens, clustered into a hoard and grinning at the camera like their lives depended on it. Phantom laughter echoed in her mind as she studied the memory frozen in time. </p><p>She remembered it. </p><p>Not well, not really at all, once she put her mind to it, but that was her face- Marinette’s face- lit up with glee where she was sandwiched between Alya and Adrien with their arms slung over her shoulders. She could feel the weight of their presence as if they were still flanking her now. </p><p>But she didn’t understand why it was here, why Chat had a photo of Marinette framed on his dresser in a place of honor. </p><p>Before she could ponder it, the door behind her creaked open, then immediately after slammed against the wall, a string of audible curses following it. Marinette spun around, clutching the picture frame to her chest and shrinking back against the dresser behind her. She watched a blonde man sprint across the room to look out the window, still cursing frantically as he scanned the view. </p><p>He was tall, dressed in the most nondescript black hoodie she’d ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on, but decidedly human and painfully natural looking, and for a moment, she wondered if this was it. </p><p>If this was the first time she would see her partner’s face.</p><p>Then he turned around. And his eyes were greener than the ivy curling around her childhood bedroom window, beneath a golden fringe that just barely shaded them as they grew wide with shock, meeting her gaze from across the room.</p><p>“Adrien?” Marinette blurted, her brow furrowing at the man standing across from her. Who was very decidedly her old friend and classmate, the same one depicted in the photo clenched in her hands, and very much not the person she’d been expecting. </p><p>Adrien huffed out a shaky breath, his shoulders slumping as tension left his body and he ran a hand through his hair, leaving stray hairs sticking out in his wake. “Oh thank god.” </p><p>Some part of her brain that was still sixteen years old and hopelessly infatuated with him chose that moment to humiliate her by darkening her cheeks with a rosy flush. “What are you doing here?” she asked, harsher than she meant to be, wincing and immediately biting her lip hard enough to sting.</p><p>His brows furrowed together and Adrien squinted at her, shifting from one foot to the other with restless energy as he replied. “I live here.” </p><p>“Oh,” Marinette breathed, “How did I get here?”</p><p>It wasn’t really what she wanted to ask. She wanted to ask about the photos, about why she mattered so much to him, why it felt like she had a handful of puzzle pieces but none of them fit together properly.</p><p>But she didn’t, because she was still a coward. </p><p>If anything, her question only seemed to perplex him more. He pursed his lips, seeming conflicted as he replied, “I brought you here.” Adrien held her gaze as he said it, his eyes boring holes through her as though he was searching for the answer to a question he hadn't asked. </p><p>Marinette avoided the probing look, staring out the window just behind him, although there wasn’t much to see in the twilight of dawn before the sun rose. “Where did Chat go?” she asked, not sure what to make of this other specter from her past, who probably felt the same way about her.</p><p>“Where did-” Adrien’s eyes went dark and he stumbled back, a strangled noise cutting off his words. </p><p>Her feet moved without thought, halting after only a few steps toward him, and an arm she hadn’t realized she’d stretched out dropped back to her side. “Are you okay?” Marinette asked, not sure what else to say when he looked as though she’d slapped him. </p><p>Adrien straightened up, squaring his shoulders and letting a smile stretch across his face hiding something beneath it that made her itch with its insincerity.</p><p>But she couldn't place why.</p><p>He was apologizing, saying something else that Marinette couldn’t hear over her own thoughts, clamoring to drown one another out in an endless cacophony that left her unable to tell one idea from another. “Um, sorry,” she cut him off, “Where’s Chat? I-I need to talk to him.” </p><p>There was a moment of hesitation before he replied. “He’ll be back soon.” But she didn’t get a chance to question it before he plowed on. “Are <em> you </em>okay?”</p><p>Marinette blinked vacantly at him, her thoughts screeching to a halt. “Uh, no,” she said, too honestly, before realizing herself and flushing as she stuttered, “Sorry! Yes? I-” Cutting herself off with a groan, she pinched her nose between her thumb and forefinger until it hurt. “-I’m okay.”</p><p>“So, that wasn’t the most convincing answer I’ve ever heard,” Adrien hummed, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on his feet, allowing her to study his features unnoticed. She’d found him attractive since her early teens and even with all the things that had changed, that fact remained the same. </p><p>When they were young, he had glowed with a sort of youthful innocence and boyish charm. Time had hardened and refined him like a diamond, his features defined by harsh angles and chiseled lines. He was a statue in the image of a god, brought to life, almost inhuman in his own way once she looked a little too closely.</p><p>Marinette watched him wrestle with something internally, worrying at his lip with a pearly canine that was a little too sharp, and paid a little too much attention as he ran a hand across the back of his neck- her partner’s classic nervous habit. </p><p>“C’mon, Chaton, just ask whatever it is you’re thinking so hard about- before you hurt yourself or something,” she blurted, a lighthearted tease that fell flat on her delivery when she realized that she’d forgotten herself. This was not her partner at all and she couldn’t explain why she’d thought he was for just long enough to say something stupid.</p><p>“Sorry!” Marinette yelped immediately, her cheeks burning with heat, “I don’t know why I said that. Um, but if you did have a question you can ask, I guess?”</p><p>Adrien’s face was pale, his eyes wide and dark as they blinked owlishly at her. “Well, I...hmm.” His mouth opened and closed repeatedly before he managed to ask, “What happened to you?”</p><p>Apprehension slammed into her like a charging bull and she broke eye contact, glaring at her feet and trying not to growl. “Why do you care?” </p><p>The click of his jaw clenching shut was audible from across the room, but he didn’t reply. She let the silence hover, heavy and expectant, for a long moment before sighing through her teeth and looking back up to find his eyes still fixed on her. Resisting the urge to drop her gaze again, Marinette grimaced. “Where’s Chat, Adrien?”</p><p>He laughed, but it was dry and empty of humor, rattling in the air like a cough. “He’s here.”</p><p>It didn’t seem like a joke but whatever he intended to convey eluded her. She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but before the words could fall from her lips, he cut her off yet again.</p><p>“Plagg? Transform me.” </p><p>Marinette’s eyes slammed shut out of instinct, but the light was blinding even through her eyelids, and rather than let them flutter open, she clenched them tighter and ducked her head. “What are you <em> doing? </em>” she screamed, knowing it was irrational to react as though he’d broken her trust by revealing a secret that had no reason to be a secret anymore. But at the same time, unable to process the hurricane of emotions that had descended upon her.</p><p>Adrien -Chat?- didn’t reply. A hand gripped her arm and a shriek tore itself from her throat as she stumbled back, out of his grasp. Her feet caught underneath her and she tripped, but before she could hit the ground, she was hauled back up and folded into a broad chest. Smooth leather pressed against her cheek, his warmth and scent enveloping her as much as his embrace, making her stomach twist and her heart stutter.</p><p>She opened her eyes. </p><p>Emerald pools in a black abyss, irises that haunted her memories, so familiar that her knees buckled again, the tension draining from her body as she collapsed in her partner’s arms. Pain exploded in her skull, throbbing in a erratic beat to match her heart as the fog that had hovered around her since she’d awoken shattered, the shards of her memories raining down around her and piercing her skin with clarity.</p><p>She’d always thought she would know her partner as soon as she saw him, imagined that she might bump into him on the street and just <em> know </em>when he smiled that crooked grin of his. She had always expected him to be a stranger that she’d recognize, but never a stranger that wasn’t a stranger at all.</p><p>Except maybe he was. </p><p>Because how could she claim to know him when they’d sat across a table over lunch too many times to count, or stared at his head for an entire class hour, or any of the thousands of other moments she had spent with Adrien Agreste and she’d never <em> seen </em>him. </p><p>“I used to sit behind you in class,” Marinette breathed, more to herself than to him, staring vacantly up at him as his features creased in confusion. </p><p>He didn’t seem to know what to say, gaping at her for a long moment before whispering, in a delicate, hesitant sort of way, “You what?” </p><p>She let her hand slide up to cup his jaw, brushing her thumb across his cheekbone as she studied every tiny similarity that she had been so desperate to ignore when she was busy being stubborn and infatuated with Adrien. </p><p>But now she could see him. Now she could see how infuriatingly stupid she’d been, the entire time falling in love with the same gloriously wonderful idiot, on both sides of the mask. </p><p>Marinette’s gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips, tilted up ever so slightly in an awestruck, breathless sort of way, and she found that all she could think about was the fact that she knew she’d already kissed him- but the memory was still half lost in fog. She couldn’t remember if the peach pink skin was as soft as it looked, and she desperately wanted to know. </p><p>The distance between them shrank without her realizing she was moving, until they were a hair apart, sharing a single breath that sent shivers racing down her spine. Marinette’s other hand slid into the soft hair at the base of her partner’s neck and tugged. The way she saw it, Hawkmoth had already stolen seven years of her life- and she wasn’t going to lose another second by being a coward. </p><p>Just as their lips were about to touch, a second realization hit her and she reeled back, her jaw dropping open. “Oh my god, Adrien, your <em> father </em>,” she blurted, immediately regretting it when he visibly flinched, eyes flying open to reveal those familiar slitted pupils. Marinette clutched at him before he could pull away, “Shit, no, that’s not-” </p><p>Groaning loudly, she released him and buried her face in her hands, “Wow, way to go Marinette, just deepthroat your own foot why don't you, that's really attractive-ugh! If just once in my life I could speak in your presence that would be <em> great </em>.” Huffing out a heavy sigh and following it with a deep, calming breath, she cupped his cheeks in her hands again, tilting his face until he looked her in the eye. “Um, what I meant to say was, I’m sorry that you had to go through that alone.” </p><p>His lip trembled and his eyes glossed over, but a laugh rumbled in his chest as he tugged her into an embrace, gripping her so tight it was almost painful. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, already wetting the skin with tears, he breathed, so soft she almost didn’t hear it. “I’m so glad it’s you.”</p><p>Marinette tightened her grasp on him- if that was even possible, the two of them melting into each other like two halves of one whole that had been separated for far too long. Tears streaked her own cheeks, the puzzle pieces she'd struggled to make sense of falling into place with every overwhelmed sob. </p><p>They stayed there, tangled together, unsure where one ended and the other began, until silence fell and their tears dried into sticky trails. Adrien cleared his throat, voice hoarse and still thick with emotion. “Uhm, sorry, I-Plagg, detransform me.” </p><p>She squinted into the blinding light, watching as it stripped away the mask. Despite having the knowledge of who was under it, something in her was senselessly greedy to actually see it revealed. Almost as an afterthought, when his transformation had fully receded to expose unfairly perfect features, Marinette was struck with a deep seated envy at the reminder that her own mask was not so easily banished. </p><p>She didn't get the chance to dwell on it before Plagg popped into existence and peered down at them both with an inscrutable expression. "Gross," he said, in that overly lofty, nasal tone of his. "What's with the waterworks, kids?"</p><p>A gentle rush of affection for the grumpy cat spread through her chest, pulling a soft smile onto her lips. "Hi Plagg," she said.</p><p>"Hey Pigtails, long time no see." The kwami gave her a cheeky grin, swooping down to nuzzle into her cheek very very briefly. "Gotta be honest, you and Sugarcube aren't looking so hot. Been transformed for a while?” Plagg backed up and scanned her form again, unusually solemn and scrutinizing. “Or maybe more than a while?”</p><p>Adrien stiffened underneath her and she realized that she hadn’t actually told him what happened yet, what with everything else that had unfolded in the last few minutes. “Let’s go with more than a while,” Marinette met Plagg’s gaze and held it, hoping he’d somehow see the things she wasn’t yet ready to say- or at least just leave it alone for now. </p><p>But cheating death seemed to have used up all her luck for the time being so the tiny cat just hummed and flitted closer to peer into her eyes. "Yeah, I figured as much. Can you-”</p><p>“No,” she snapped, giving him a pointed glare to suggest he quit while he was behind. </p><p>Predictably, he wasn’t cowed in the slightest. “Nothing at all?” Plagg whined, high pitched and intentionally obnoxious. </p><p>“No, Plagg, I-” Marinette scrubbed her hand across her face and into her hair, scraping it away from her face anxiously as she pulled herself free from Adrien’s grasp and rose to her feet. “Look. Tikki, detransform me." </p><p>The now familiar ripple of magic raced along her skin as fabric stretched and shifted back into the loose fitting hoodie and joggers that Tikki had provided her with mid panic attack. Earlier she’d been too consumed by her emotions to properly take stock of it, but now she was paying attention. Distantly registering- and immediately dismissing- Adrien and Plagg talking in the background, Marinette ran her hands along the loose fabric of her shirt until she reached the hem and found that it was not connected to her pants. </p><p>She yanked on it experimentally, adrenaline flushing her system when the fabric pulled away from her skin. Catching it in her grasp, she tore the garment up over her shoulders and discarded it, chest heaving with frantic breaths. Black flashed in her periphery and she glanced down at her hands, still coated in inky shadow, stretching past her elbows like a stain. A high pitched ringing sounded in her ears while she kicked off the baggy sweats, revealing more staining stretching to her knees, followed closely by deep scarlet streaking her hips, spattered with dark freckles. </p><p>Marinette jerked upright, contorting her body to follow a matching patch of red creeping over her shoulders and across her back, dotted with the same storm of freckles. Digging her nails in until it burned, she peeled back the skin, only to watch it shimmer and knit itself together in her wake.  Unintelligible garbage spilled from her lips, desperate prayers or mantras as she redirected her attention to her arms, scraping at the black discoloration until it broke, leaking scarlet for a matter of seconds before the wounds sealed themselves. </p><p>Her chest felt as though a cord were being tightened around it, drawing ever close to cutting off her air and suffocating her entirely. Hands gripped her wrists, firm but gentle, halting her self mutilation and ripping a shocked scream from her throat. </p><p>Once again, Marinette found herself tucked into the security of her partner’s chest while he whispered reassurance into her hair. “It’s okay, Bug. It's going to be okay."</p><p>She tugged halfheartedly at his grip, not really wanting to break free, but almost instinctively unable to give up her fight. Her voice shrieked hysterically, "What if it isn't? What if I’m stuck like this for the rest of my fucking life, Adrien, what then?"</p><p>"Then we'll handle it,” he said immediately, rubbing soothing circles on the skin of her back. “Just like we always do, me and you against the world, remember?”</p><p>Overcome by the desperate need to prove that this was real and her life was hers again, Marinette surged forward and sealed their lips together, the force sending them tumbling back on the bed. Adrien shuddered underneath her, a raspy growl rising in the back of his throat that made her breath catch in her throat. Adrenaline and arousal arced through her veins, igniting every inch of her skin as she tilted her head and deepened the kiss. </p><p>His hands cupped her cheeks reverently, as if she were made of fragile porcelain, but she’d found her bravery again, pushing her to be bolder than before as she dropped her body, closing the gap between them. Her legs straddled his hips and her torso draped across his, molding together like they were meant for each other. But Adrien’s hands were still politely pressed to her cheeks and Marinette’s patience was quickly waning in the face of growing anticipation.</p><p>She broke the kiss by the barest breath, desperately refilling her lungs and whispering against his lips, “Touch me.” </p><p>It was a command more than a request and he trembled under the force of it, a soft whine pulling from his throat. Then his hands gripped her hips and flipped them, pinning Marinette beneath his weight for the second time that night- and she much preferred this time. She gasped in surprise, covering it by capturing Adrien’s lips in another heated kiss, his movements pliant beneath her domination. Everything about him was soft for her, giving way beneath the barest pressure, and the temptation to test his limits loomed seductively. </p><p>Lowering her hands, she tugged at his shirt impatiently, nearly ripping the thin fabric in her haste to remove the barrier between them. He rose up just far enough to fully remove the garment and toss it aside, before sinking back into her. Every inch where his skin met hers flamed like liquid magma, shifting tumultuously in a tide outside her control. </p><p>Eager to follow her direction, Adrien’s hands skimmed across the sensitive expanse of her ribs, inching up and sending sparks with every brief contact. Marinette let her own fingers travel in the opposite direction, refusing to be outdone as she explored the dips and hard planes of muscle that made up his body, toned to perfection thanks to years of vaulting through Paris' nights. Her fingertips found the waistband of his jeans and dipped just beneath the edge, scrapping the tender flesh teasingly before moving on to the clasp and making quick work of it. </p><p>In comparison, his progress was painstaking, excruciatingly so, studying every inch of her like he was committing her to memory, treasuring her like she was something of value. It made her squirm, anxiety snaking its way through the arousal in her gut. Maybe it was the fact that she was still intensely aware of the stains on her skin, but it made her feel like she was a painting in a gallery, being examined and dissected for the truths hidden in it’s visage. </p><p>Marinette decided she hated it. </p><p>She wanted his hands gripping her like he had earlier, like he never wanted to let go, bruising into her skin. She wanted his lips to devour her, to drown in him and lose herself in the trails of fire left in his wake. She wanted him to take her, break her, until she dissolved into the moment, ripped apart by the intensity of it and finally free from her invisible bonds.  </p><p>Tucking her legs around his waist and pulling their hips flush together, Marinette rolled her hips insistently, a smug grin curving her lips when she was rewarded with a husky groan. Her fingers wove into golden strands of hair, tipping his head back and descending upon the tender flesh of his neck, teeth bearing into fragile skin until it purpled beneath her force and the breathless whisper of her name moaned brokenly in her ear drew a possessive growl from her throat.</p><p>They’d learned to communicate without words early in their partnership and the passage of time hadn’t broken that bond, so as if he’d read her mind, Adrien reared back. His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second, blown so wide that the black abyss of his pupil nearly eclipsed his emerald irises. Ducking his head and scraping sharp fangs across her skin, he coaxed rough gasps from her lips, hips bucking into hers as he suckled a mark of his own in the supple flesh above her heart.  </p><p>He retreated down her body, tracing a path of searing kisses, ghosted along her skin, goosebumps prickling beneath every teasing touch. Adrien spread her legs, nestling himself between her thighs and gusting hot puffs of air across her molten core. The dull throbbing increased to a frenzied inferno as he nosed between her folds and swept his tongue the entire length of her slit, slow and deliberate.</p><p>Marinette bit back a desperate shriek, her hips jerking into him instinctively, and buried her hands in his hair. Twisting and pulling spitefully when he chuckled against her, she nearly saw stars when he answered with a moan, vibrating through her and ricocheting pleasure up her spine. He flicked his tongue over her clit in quick, kitten licks, pausing to suckle at the sensitive nub until she bucked and arched beneath his ministrations. </p><p>Tightening her grip, she hauled him back up above her, a fresh wave of arousal racing in her veins at the sight of his cheeks flushed pink and his lips coated with <em> her </em>, shining in the light of dawn streaming through the window. </p><p>She dropped her eyes and peered coyly up at him through her lashes, practically purring a taunt. “Do you want to fuck me, Chaton?”</p><p>Adrien’s eyes were hooded and darkly inscrutable when he whispered back, “I want to love you.” </p><p>It was not the saucy retort she expected; it was soft and raw and bleeding with emotion, making her realize that she had not been the only one lost for four years, adrift and alone. Marinette tugged him into a gentle kiss, just a brief brush of her lips against his, pouring every ounce of her feelings into him. “Why not both?” she teased quietly, so close they still shared a single breath. </p><p>Pushing into his shoulder, she prodded him to flip them once again. Adrien followed her direction without her even having to voice it. With a wicked smirk, she dragged her thumb across his lower lip and murmured, “My turn.” </p><p>Marinette flattened her palm in the center of his chest and applied gentle pressure. “Stay,” she hissed, snaking her other hand between them. Her fingers sought out his cock and gripped the shaft, squeezing just enough to feel him quake and suck in a harsh gasp. Every shaky breath and trembling muscle spurred her on, her confidence increasing with each passing second. </p><p>Mimicking the same path Adrien had made, she traced her way down his form, peppering feather light kisses as she plundered her way south. She wasted no time in building tension the way he had, slipping the head of his cock between her lips and dragging her tongue across the tip to taste the salty precum beading there. </p><p>His hips bucked into her mouth, a strangled groan music to her ears as she slid the length deeper and sucked gently, taking perhaps too much pleasure in feeling him shudder. One of his hands went to tangle in her hair the way she’d done to him and Marinette pulled his dick from between her lips with a wet pop, giving him a pointed look. “I told you to stay.”</p><p>Adrien’s cock twitched in her hand and his hand dropped back on the bed obediently. “Good boy,” she praised, letting a smirk curl her lips as she stroked him gently, holding his gaze. </p><p>His eyes were glassy, sweat plastering wild strands of hair to his forehead and coating his skin with an almost unearthly sheen; he was coming undone at the seams for her, seconds from dissolving in her hands. He was everything she’d ever wanted, everything she’d imagined and more.</p><p>Marinette surged forward, straddling his hips and hovering over him to cup her hands around his jaw. “I am so stupidly in love with you, it is physically painful, and I have been since forever, and I’m sorry I picked a fight with you in an alley, and I am going to ride you until you scream for me.”</p><p>“Uh-” Adrien froze, his face going blank as he processed what she’d said, a bright flush creeping across his cheeks. “I-Okay.” </p><p>“Okay,” she confirmed, nodding confidently, despite the matching blush quickly colouring her own features. </p><p>“You’re amazing.” A crooked, goofy grin, a little too sharp and a little too imperfect, tugged at his lips- the smile she’d never forget, shining up at her with pure adoration from the man that she was absolutely convinced was the love of her life. “I’m-Oh god, I love you so much.”</p><p>A laugh, light, carefree and full of hope for the first time since she’d woken up and hauled herself out of that glass prison, burst from her chest, shaking her entire body. Adrien laughed with her, pulling her down to crush their lips together, clumsy and rough, teeth clicking together because they couldn’t stop smiling. </p><p>A loud knocking cut into their tiny bubble, shattering the tiny world they had lost themselves in. They froze, wide eyed like deer in the headlights as they stared at each other in complete silence. </p><p>“Uuuh, hey man,” a voice called from the hallway a moment later. “Are you okay? You, er, you weren’t answering our calls and you gave me that key for emergencies so I thought I’d come check on you but it seems like maybe you’re busy?”</p><p>“Is that-?” Marinette hissed frantically. </p><p>Adrien cringed, looking somewhere between humiliated and annoyed as he confirmed. “Nino.”</p><p>“So should I come back later, dude?” Nino called, only to be cut off a moment later by a second voice piping up. </p><p>Marinette recognized the voice as Alya’s immediately. </p><p>“Fuck that noise! We’re not going anywhere because I have questions, tomcat!” the woman hollered, half teasingly, “Get yourself decent, sunshine boy, we need to talk.”</p><p>“Oh <em> shit </em>,” Adrien whispered, doing nothing to soothe her mounting anxiety as he shoved her to the side and scrambled upright. </p><p>She smacked his arm lightly and aimed a scowl at him. “That’s all you have to say?”</p><p>He tracked her gaze as it traveled around the room and landed on the large pane of glass on the opposite wall. “Before you even think it, we can’t jump out the window.”</p><p>“Adrien, they think I’m <em> dead </em>,” Marinette said, a little bit of a growl in her whisper. </p><p>“We’re not doing that, we’re adults,” Adrien argued, louder than she would have preferred as he handed her a shirt. “Here put this on.” </p><p>She took it but made no move to actually clothe herself, focused on her retort. “Speak for yourself, two naps ago I was sixteen.”</p><p>He froze, turning to peer at her intently. “Hold on, that’s a joke right?” </p><p>Marinette cursed silently, avoiding his eyes and realizing she’d allowed herself to relax too much and she was <em> definitely </em>not ready for this conversation. </p><p>Nino knocked again, “Adrien? Bro, I really don’t want to have to break down this door.” </p><p>“I do,” Alya yelped, apparently in high spirits now that she’d recovered from her interaction with Marinette last night. A sting of guilt raced through her.</p><p>“Hold <em> on! </em>” Adrien hollered over his shoulder.</p><p>Alya shrieked with laughter outside, oblivious to the tension within the room. “Oh, he’s not dead, that’s good.”</p><p>He was still staring through her as he lunged forward to grasp her shoulders.“You’re joking, right?” Adrien pleaded, voice trembling. </p><p>Marinette avoided his gaze and shrugged helplessly, focusing very intently on the seams of the shirt she was twisting in her hands. </p><p>Though she couldn’t see the hurt in his eyes, she could hear it in his voice, cracked and louder than it had been. “Jesus Christ, Mari, you could have started with that!”</p><p>Her pride roared to life and she met his gaze with a defiant fire sparking in her chest, stalking towards him. “Really, Chaton? And when was I supposed to do that? When you nearly broke down the door yourself, wearing the face of my most humiliating and long-standing crush? Or maybe when I had not one, but two separate individual breakdowns and literally ripped my clothes off in front of you? Or perhaps just now while your tongue was in my pussy, would that have been a good time for you?” Her voice was low, but too harsh, too hostile, and she knew it. Only her pride wouldn't let her back down, balking at the sight of vulnerability and slamming a defensive shell back into place. </p><p>“Adrien, I will <em> seriously </em>break down the door,” Alya yelled through the door, banging on it again, “Who the fuck are you talking to?”</p><p>Nino's garbled voice replied to her too softly for Marinette to make out what he said. Probably something aimed, and failing, to soothe his dynamic partner.</p><p>For his part, Adrien didn’t even seem to notice the calamity still ensuing outside the door, instead, he gaped at her just long enough to make her nervous and began to laugh. He keeled over, chest heaving until he wheezed and coughed, all while Marinette watched in stunned silence, unsure of what to say. </p><p>“Sorry! Sorry, it’s not funny, I know it’s not,” Adrien gasped between sporadic chuckles, swiping away stray tears from his cheeks. He crossed the distance between them to grab her hand, lacing their fingers and resting his forehead against hers, leaving her floundering beneath the intensity of his gaze. “I just missed you so much. It’s been a long time since you yelled at me for saying something stupid.” </p><p>The door behind them clicked open with a cheerful shout. “Time’s up, kids!” </p><p>They both froze, apprehension creeping up Marinette’s spine as she peered back over her shoulder to find Alya’s head poking through a gap, a hand clasped over her eyes as she yelled into the room. “If you didn’t want me in here you should’ve locked the door and made it at least a little difficult. You’ve got thirty seconds to get decent or let me check you out, your choice.” </p><p>Immediately after she finished speaking, and long before thirty seconds had passed, Alya split her fingers and peeked through, meeting Marinette’s gaze from across the room. Panic instinctively made her flinch further into Adrien’s arms and she cut her eyes back to the window again, wondering if she could manage to outrun all three of them. </p><p>Alya’s hand fell to her side, her jaw slack with shock as she stared at them, her lips moving but nothing coming out. Behind her, Nino nudged open the door and edged into the room facing the wall; he gave a thumbs up to the room. “How’s it hanging, dudes?”</p><p>Very abruptly, Marinette became intensely aware of the fact that the shirt Adrien had given her was still twisted between her fingers and her mouth ran away with her before she could stop it. “I’m super naked right now, Nino, thanks for asking.” </p><p>Then Adrien was laughing again, deep, body shaking laughs that rolled with a siren’s call, vibrating from his chest and into hers to calm her restless heart. Alya was shrieking nonsensically, with Nino still facing the wall trying to convince her to tell him what was happening. </p><p>Letting a smile curl her lips as she took in the chaos, Marinette knew it wouldn’t be easy to reclaim the life that she’d been forced to leave behind, she might never be the girl in the photographs again, but she also knew that she wasn’t nearly as forgotten as she’d thought- and that, if her partner had his way, she’d never be alone again. </p><p>Two days ago she’d been sixteen years old, a child that had seen too much to be called innocent. Yesterday she’d been Paris’ dead heroine, lost and forgotten by the city she’d given so much for. </p><p>But today, today she was a woman with someone who loved her, she was someone with a second chance, and she wasn’t going to let it slip through her grasp. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This fic was meant to be a short experiment in E territory (it's been a while since I've written it) but it got a little out of hand and I ended up with multiple pieces of art and 11k for my troubles. I hope y'all enjoyed it and not to shamelessly self promote a second time but if you liked my art and want to drop me a like please check me out on <a href="https://bumbleb-tch.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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